[Closed] Considering changing back to gripshift after 15 years am i mad?

I love my XO twists with Bonti grips. Not slipped a gear once in the 13months I've been using them. I'm running a dual ring 32/44 and a 11-34 at the back. The granny has been removed.

One of my bikes came with gripshifts already fitted.
Having not used them for about 10 years i thought i'd just give them a bit of a go before changing them to triggers.

They're still on the bike now. They seem to work very well indeed.

hoops - are you running 10 speed with the xo?

I like gripshift

Grip shifts are great after just seeing the new 10spd ones i'll be getting them.

Allow me to add balance to this thread.

Yes, yes you are stark, raving, clucking and gibbering mad nutcase for even considering using the devils choice of gear shifting (often he'll choose when youll shift too!)

Nope, I'm not a fan....

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/sram-grip-shift-10-speed-press-release-2012.html

I've always been tempted but now I've got shimano theres no way of testing it out.

I have XO grip shift on all of my geared bikes.( 2x9 1x9 3x9 and 1x10. ) Never misshift and find them comfy with chopped ritchley foam grips.
Love it in comparison to XTR and wouldn't be changing back any time soon.
Interested in the new XX /XO ten speed stuff when available.

I'd suggest picking some used stuff up on here or eBay to give it a try. chances are you can use it for a few months and sell it for the same money if in good condition.

On my Merida 96 I have 34/12-32

i only use gripshift on my race bikes

I find my XO gripshifters great (better for me than Shimano) & would certainly like to try the 10spd version. There's a company in Germany that mods current model to 10spd which tempted me but finally I plumped for the exceedingly good value XT groupset from bike-discount....
Clearly I'm easily swayed 🙂

I like Gripshift, but use Shimano.

When I used to race I loved it (early ESP era) and would happily try it again.

I use gripshift with the Nexus on my road bike. It's easy to use. Never really understood why people didn't get on with them. They are much tidier then trigger switches.

Any DHers use gripshift or is their use confined to towpath mincers (as I suspect)?

(just to complete the initial cycle)

You're right fourbanger - "DHers" can't close their chubby fingers round the shifters so they don't use them

Big fan of grip shifts if you use a tripple setup it's neat to have half shifts on three speed shift to stop the gears rubbing in some gear combos

Easy there scaredypants. I'm sure they have their place, just like STI's on a road bike.

I love Gripshift and I've found 99% of the haters have never tried X.0 shifters. The difference between those and any other ones are like night and day.

I have X0 on my On One and they are great.

My srt400's are still going strong after 15 odd years 😉

been using x9 grip shifts for ages now . Ive found a good way to avoid landing and changing ( you know that cartoon style leg flapping that takes over when your in different gear to expected ) is to move them inboard a bit on the bars , leaving enough normal grip, outboard of grip shifter, to hold for jumping and scarey sh*t trail sections !!
works for me !!

The perceived "problems" with grip shifts are generally from people who have only used budget versions on a budget bike. A quality grip shift is in a different league to the rubbish found on a Tesco bike.
IMHO they are much neater and there is way less clutter on the bars. Changing up and down 3 or 4 rings at once is easy. You can use SRAM grip shifters with Shimano rear mechs if you go for the Attack model. The X series only work with SRAM rear mechs.
9 speed Attack http://tinyurl.com/6uud469
[img] ?w=350&h=350&a=7[/img]

there great,

super light, very cheap 0x, look nice & clean, mechanically simple & reliable - whats not to like???

Matt24k - Member:

The perceived "problems" with grip shifts...

It's not a question of perception. The fundamental problem with gripshift is unless you want to hold on to a grip that rotates, you have to move your hand on the bar everytime you change gear. Just seems daft to me,l but only from experience.

I'll be going to gripshift when I replace the drivetrain on my hardtail. I've been using a Rohloff changer for the last 5 years on another bike and think it's a much better way of changing gear.

I still run 1999 SRAM esp9 shortie gripshifts and love them. Have been faultless for a over a decade. I just cut down normal grips to suit.Currently got Sunline mushrooms.

fourbanger
It must be a technique thing. I do not have to move my hand to change gear. I ride with my index finger covering the brake levers and the other 3 fingers on the static part of the grip which I have cut down to suit. This is as natural to me as others find flicking levers.
Each to their own and I think this thread underlines that.

I converted to X0 grip shifts last year, love them. One niggle, though, would be they're a lot fatter than, say, an ODI grip so with thick gloves on in winter they can feel a bit clumsy.

Also, in winter I've been so cold my thumbs wouldn't operate a lever, but no such problems with gripshift. OK, we're talking one or two days a year here, but still...

Matt24k, fair play. Was a long time ago I used it. It is a tidy solution. Maybe a I'll try and have a play with some new stuff.

I think I've some old X-rays in the spares box at home......anyone intrested in making me an offer if I take some pics.

For that retro 1990's feel......

🙂

I love my X0 Gripshifts, and also my ancient Xray ones from 1996 that are still going strong. I also love the Shimano triggers on my other bike. They're both good ways of changing gear. I have to say though that whilst I've killed a couple of trigger shifters (on one memorable occasion with nothing more than some ferns, no really), I reckon you'd have to really batter a gripshift to stop it working. Your bars would probably snap first.

I've never had any problem with accidental shifting on the gripshifts - maybe some people just have fat hands... 😉

they're a lot fatter than, say, an ODI grip

Hmm, mine taper down to the same size as an ODI lock-on, and they fit really nicely.

I didn't know there was an extra click on the X0s, very interesting.

Seeing as we're only connected by our pedals and grips, interfering with the control here seems mental to me. I had GS ages ago, now I ride more demanding stuff I'd never dream of it.

It's tidy and allows huge shifts but requires your upper body posture to change which is a no-no for me. It would be interesting to see how many GS users also use SPDs.

Maybe they should make a twist brake lever? 😛

I use a gripshift for dual chainring shifts - allows for much finer tuning of the front mech. I like it and as has been noted above the technique for shifting doesn't really require that much changing of hand position or letting go of grips.

For added confusion i use a trigger shift for the rear mech and flat pedals 🙂

X0 gripshift was very cheap from Merlin (9sp). That with a X9 rear mech XT front has been light, bombproof and totally reliable for me. Nokon cables and I don't touch it for 2 years at a time.

I use SPDs on all bikes Herman. DOn't notice any problem in body posture, you still hold the bars to do it, and maybe you don't change gears under duress as much as you think - certainly it's not an issue for me. The ability to dump a bunch of gears in one twist is brilliant though.

isn't there that German places that converts X0 9 speed gripshifts to suit 10 SRAM and 10 Shimano pulls? can't remember their name..

ps I love gripshift

rootes1, please try to remember 🙂 - be interested to hear about that

I had X-rays (8 spd) on my Cannondale bought in 95. I found rear shifting was no problem at all. The bug bear for me was front shifting when tired, especially if it was wet. I sometimes found I really struggled to make changes up the rings in those conditions.

On that basis if you are thinking of going 1x10 I would expect no problem as you will be using the more user friendly shifter IMHO.

Black Cat Bone Bikes were doing them, can't see them on their website though. They were pretty pricey, had to totally remodel the shifters, it's not just a case of adding an extra 'notch'. Maybe dropped them now SRAM have confirmed pukka 10 speed ones.

I always used to use them for racing (and loved them) but now on XTR I doubt I'll change. If I still had XX then I'd change.

Worth noting the 10 speed ones no longer have the 'trim' feature on the front mech, they have 2 clicks, one for each chainring, more like a trigger shifter. For me (and for others above) one of the advantages was the ability to adjust the front mech.

Loving my xo grip shifts. Running them 10 speed with XTR shifters.

All perfect!

Haven't used gripshift since I had XRays on a rigid Orange Clockwork! Liked them a lot, but IIRC it was a pain in the neck to change the gear cable - lots of winding the cable round in an intricate fashion, only to completely forget how to do it six months later.

Are they any easier now? Or was (am) I just a cack-handed numpty?

Loving my xo grip shifts. Running them 10 speed with XTR shifters.

What do you mean? You're running 9 speed X.0 shifters on a 10 speed block with an XTR rear mech? 9 speed or 10? By all logic that really shouldn't work 😕

I'm using an X0 front shifter since developing pain in my thumb aggrevated by shifting. I've noticed I shift less and ride in middle ring (big ring in my 2x9 set up) more.

It's noisey, but maybe because it is still new. One thing I dont lik is the fact it isnt indexed, so I shift and then have to click again to stop the front mech rubbing on the chain. Maybe experience will teach me how many clicks to turn to shift up and down effectively.

Obviously I dont get the benefits of being able to shift multiple gears at a time on the front.

If my thumb heals up, I'll probably go back to triggers. I find it hard shifting into the small ring quickly, say when dropping in and out of a stream bed whether things are a bit techie. Maybe I just need more practice.

They are cheap though, worth a go IMO.

It's noisey, but maybe because it is still new. One thing I dont lik is the fact it isnt indexed, so I shift and then have to click again to stop the front mech rubbing on the chain. Maybe experience will teach me how many clicks to turn to shift up and down effectively.

They don't get quieter, they are fairly noisy it must be said!

The 10 speed ones are indexed, perhaps look at changing your shifter, designed for doubles too.

Thanks NJee - maybe setting the stops more precisely would help too (just bought the X0 pair, and not using the rear shifter, so bit reluctant to buy a new X0 2x10 front so soon)

Hang on.....is there really a specific 2x10 front gripshifter out there?

Njee - running 10 speed. Shifters have been rebuilt by Fantic26.de and work perfectly!

I run grip shift on my main two bikes X-0 and X-9. I find they make nice crisp shifts, work better in gloop than my old shimano set up. The only problem I've had is that they don't seem compatible with some brake levers.